Annod wrote:
Two shot during birthday party at rented Queens home

Two men were shot early Saturday ? leaving one in critical condition ? during a wild party at a Queens home rented out for the night on Airbnb, cops and witnesses said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/q ... ns-home-article-1.2410518

jerseymom wrote:
Meanwhile, in Gotham...

EXCLUSIVE: Airbnb fights 'Freddy Krueger of bills' that would hit N.Y. homeowners who rent out their pads with up to $50G in fines
BY JENNIFER FERMINO

Airbnb has come out swinging against a bill that would hit homeowners who rent out their pads on home-sharing sites with fines as high as $50,000, saying it?s ?bad policy? that could bankrupt New Yorkers looking to make a quick buck.

The company sent a three-page letter to City Councilman Jumaane Williams on Wednesday, a week before the Brooklyn Democrat, who chairs the Housing and Buildings Committee, holds a hearing on the bill.

More - Daily News

jcwalkingman wrote:
How is Sky City operating a legal business if AirBNB isn't yet?

btw - I saw a sizable group of European tourists walk from the Sky City office on Grand to the Zenith in Liberty Harbor (building in which Zeppelin Biergarten is located); not sure if it's a tenant or the building itself that is renting out units to tourists, but if I lived there I'd be pissed off.

DanL wrote:
as this issue is researched, no question, all others things aside, given the number of condominiums in Jersey City, we need the city to amend the proposed ordinance to ensure that that a condominium or home owner association's master deed and by-laws will preempt the ordinance. we need it to be explicit and NOT left to litigate leaving it up to the courts to decide for us.

07310 wrote:
Quote:

DanL wrote:


as this issue is researched, no question, all others things aside, given the number of condominiums in Jersey City, we need the city to amend the proposed ordinance to ensure that that a condominium or home owner association's master deed and by-laws will preempt the ordinance. we need it to be explicit and NOT left to litigate leaving it up to the courts to decide for us.

My condo has rules against homeowners subletting rooms in their units which are enforced. I hope this new ordinance does not trump those rules.

DanL wrote:


as this issue is researched, no question, all others things aside, given the number of condominiums in Jersey City, we need the city to amend the proposed ordinance to ensure that that a condominium or home owner association's master deed and by-laws will preempt the ordinance. we need it to be explicit and NOT left to litigate leaving it up to the courts to decide for us.

DanL wrote:


as this issue is researched, no question, all others things aside, given the number of condominiums in Jersey City, we need the city to amend the proposed ordinance to ensure that that a condominium or home owner association's master deed and by-laws will preempt the ordinance. we need it to be explicit and NOT left to litigate leaving it up to the courts to decide for us.

DanL wrote:


as this issue is researched, no question, all others things aside, given the number of condominiums in Jersey City, we need the city to amend the proposed ordinance to ensure that that a condominium or home owner association's master deed and by-laws will preempt the ordinance. we need it to be explicit and NOT left to litigate leaving it up to the courts to decide for us.

CatDog wrote:
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third_street_hats wrote:
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bodhipooh wrote:
Quote:

DanL wrote:
there are concerns that need to be addressed BEFORE the city moves forward. this impacts housing / building codes, safety issues, ownership rights, changing use of buildings/units, insurance coverage, affordable housing and rent control.

with zoning its very hard to go backwards, so better to come up with a plan before moving forward.

everyone should be concerned, because most everyone is impacted.

So many Chicken Little types in here... How is passing an AirBnB tax going to bring about any of those dangers and pitfalls into reality?? At the end of the day, how's having an AirBnB guest any different than having a relative or friend visiting and staying with you? Or, opening your home to house sitter while you are out of town?? Yes, someone is paying you to stay there, but what's the big deal? Do people here really believe that because the city is approving a new use tax for AirBnB rentals that will somehow convince hordes of people to start renting their apartments or rooms on AirBnB?? I don't get it.

Agreed. Anyone commenting in this regard likely doesn't have much experience with the platform. Its a reputation based system so there is quite a bit of upkeep. A single negative review is much more detrimental than it would be on a service like Yelp! You need your space to be quite clean. You can certainly pass these cleaning costs off to the renter via the platform but that disincentivizes your rental compared to a cheaper listing or cuts into your bottom line.

Hosts are also tracked based on their response rate and response time to inquiries. This does quickly become unmanageable when you are fielding messages from Europeans attempting to low ball your rental rate with some bleeding heart story.

In my experience, most renters are looking to stay in JC over the weekend. This leaves a lot of holes in your monthly calendar and drops your overall income significantly. You'll be forced to slash prices during the week to make what the same as, or more than you would if you simply leased the apartment at market rate.

Most of the people bitching and moaning about the impacts are the same people that bitch and moan about everything that happens in this town.

The reality is that 99.9% of people won't notice a thing by this happening. Could rental units come off the market so landlords can dedicate it as an AirBnB apartment? Sure, if the landlord wants to be a full-time hotelier that has to spend every other day of the month attending to their properties. Do you know many landlords that want to do that?

bodhipooh wrote:
Quote:

Sommerman wrote:
I think someone could have a decent business as an air bnb middle-man. Do the booking for a small property owner, coordinate housekeeping, arrange for key delivery etc.

Some people actually make a living doing exactly what you describe. This is particularly helpful/important when you own in an area far from where you live. In general, people who do a lot of AirBnB rentals (say, those who have three or more properties) or who aren't around enough to keep an eye on things (think someone in NY renting a place out in CA) have to hire a rental manager to help keep things moving along smoothly. My understand is that they usually cost around 10% of your rental income. Money well spent if you budget accordingly.

bodhipooh wrote:
Quote:

Sommerman wrote:
I think someone could have a decent business as an air bnb middle-man. Do the booking for a small property owner, coordinate housekeeping, arrange for key delivery etc.

Some people actually make a living doing exactly what you describe. This is particularly helpful/important when you own in an area far from where you live. In general, people who do a lot of AirBnB rentals (say, those who have three or more properties) or who aren't around enough to keep an eye on things (think someone in NY renting a place out in CA) have to hire a rental manager to help keep things moving along smoothly. My understand is that they usually cost around 10% of your rental income. Money well spent if you budget accordingly.

hudson57 wrote:
How much does Airbnb impact rents in NYC?

Sommerman wrote:
I think someone could have a decent business as an air bnb middle-man. Do the booking for a small property owner, coordinate housekeeping, arrange for key delivery etc.

DanL wrote:
there are concerns that need to be addressed BEFORE the city moves forward. this impacts housing / building codes, safety issues, ownership rights, changing use of buildings/units, insurance coverage, affordable housing and rent control.

with zoning its very hard to go backwards, so better to come up with a plan before moving forward.

everyone should be concerned, because most everyone is impacted.

DanL wrote:
this is the text at the bottom of the proposed ordinance, no restrictions, no limitations (and not just airbnb) -

"This ordinance will allow short term rentals accessory uses in all zoning districts and redevelopment plan areas where residential use is permitted."

third_street_hats wrote:
Quote:

bodhipooh wrote:
Quote:

DanL wrote:
there are concerns that need to be addressed BEFORE the city moves forward. this impacts housing / building codes, safety issues, ownership rights, changing use of buildings/units, insurance coverage, affordable housing and rent control.

with zoning its very hard to go backwards, so better to come up with a plan before moving forward.

everyone should be concerned, because most everyone is impacted.

So many Chicken Little types in here... How is passing an AirBnB tax going to bring about any of those dangers and pitfalls into reality?? At the end of the day, how's having an AirBnB guest any different than having a relative or friend visiting and staying with you? Or, opening your home to house sitter while you are out of town?? Yes, someone is paying you to stay there, but what's the big deal? Do people here really believe that because the city is approving a new use tax for AirBnB rentals that will somehow convince hordes of people to start renting their apartments or rooms on AirBnB?? I don't get it.

Agreed. Anyone commenting in this regard likely doesn't have much experience with the platform. Its a reputation based system so there is quite a bit of upkeep. A single negative review is much more detrimental than it would be on a service like Yelp! You need your space to be quite clean. You can certainly pass these cleaning costs off to the renter via the platform but that disincentivizes your rental compared to a cheaper listing or cuts into your bottom line.

Hosts are also tracked based on their response rate and response time to inquiries. This does quickly become unmanageable when you are fielding messages from Europeans attempting to low ball your rental rate with some bleeding heart story.

In my experience, most renters are looking to stay in JC over the weekend. This leaves a lot of holes in your monthly calendar and drops your overall income significantly. You'll be forced to slash prices during the week to make what the same as, or more than you would if you simply leased the apartment at market rate.

third_street_hats wrote:
Quote:

bodhipooh wrote:
Quote:

DanL wrote:
there are concerns that need to be addressed BEFORE the city moves forward. this impacts housing / building codes, safety issues, ownership rights, changing use of buildings/units, insurance coverage, affordable housing and rent control.

with zoning its very hard to go backwards, so better to come up with a plan before moving forward.

everyone should be concerned, because most everyone is impacted.

So many Chicken Little types in here... How is passing an AirBnB tax going to bring about any of those dangers and pitfalls into reality?? At the end of the day, how's having an AirBnB guest any different than having a relative or friend visiting and staying with you? Or, opening your home to house sitter while you are out of town?? Yes, someone is paying you to stay there, but what's the big deal? Do people here really believe that because the city is approving a new use tax for AirBnB rentals that will somehow convince hordes of people to start renting their apartments or rooms on AirBnB?? I don't get it.

Agreed. Anyone commenting in this regard likely doesn't have much experience with the platform. Its a reputation based system so there is quite a bit of upkeep. A single negative review is much more detrimental than it would be on a service like Yelp! You need your space to be quite clean. You can certainly pass these cleaning costs off to the renter via the platform but that disincentivizes your rental compared to a cheaper listing or cuts into your bottom line.

Hosts are also tracked based on their response rate and response time to inquiries. This does quickly become unmanageable when you are fielding messages from Europeans attempting to low ball your rental rate with some bleeding heart story.

In my experience, most renters are looking to stay in JC over the weekend. This leaves a lot of holes in your monthly calendar and drops your overall income significantly. You'll be forced to slash prices during the week to make what the same as, or more than you would if you simply leased the apartment at market rate.

kencares wrote:
Airbnb should be banned in Jersey City. Keep the transients in hotels and keep residences for residents. This will only reduce the available housing stock for residents, reduce quality of life for residents, and be an income source for Fulop.

bodhipooh wrote:
Quote:

DanL wrote:
there are concerns that need to be addressed BEFORE the city moves forward. this impacts housing / building codes, safety issues, ownership rights, changing use of buildings/units, insurance coverage, affordable housing and rent control.

with zoning its very hard to go backwards, so better to come up with a plan before moving forward.

everyone should be concerned, because most everyone is impacted.

So many Chicken Little types in here... How is passing an AirBnB tax going to bring about any of those dangers and pitfalls into reality?? At the end of the day, how's having an AirBnB guest any different than having a relative or friend visiting and staying with you? Or, opening your home to house sitter while you are out of town?? Yes, someone is paying you to stay there, but what's the big deal? Do people here really believe that because the city is approving a new use tax for AirBnB rentals that will somehow convince hordes of people to start renting their apartments or rooms on AirBnB?? I don't get it.